ROG MAXIMUS Z790 HERO - Poor Memory Compatibilty

[AlexTodd]

Just done a new build of a 14900k and a ROG MAXIMUS Z790 HERO. Never had so much trouble on a new build since the 1990's. Since everything was new i bought some 8000mhz ram that's advertised as XMP 3.0 ready to get what i thought was going to be the best out of my purchase, It's been quite the opposite. (

TEAMGROUP T-Force FF3D532G8000HC38DDC01

I initially thought it was a bios issue when it was first built as windows would not even complete an install when a XMP profile was used and i updated the bios to 1501

Using XMP under any speed causes crashes and even coming off XMP and using 5600mhz on auto settings is not even stable when gaming or under load. I contacted ASUS support and because the ram i have is not on the QVL list , they said their support is very limited and offered no support whatsoever.

If my ram is not on the QVL list (Supported) , then why does XMP allow me to select 8000mhz and other XMP speeds ?

Plus it also appears that the board is applying the wrong timings for the ram when using AUTO. CPU-Z shows different SPD info from what the board is running.

Regret moving from my 9900k And Hero Maximus Z390 now as it never had issues like this with ram.

I know that bios updates regularly sort out memory compatibilty issues . Does anyone know how you actually get ASUS to listen to you , rather than fob you off with a QVL list and we dont support that reply ?

[Silent_Scone]

Hi Alex,

1.  The Z790 Hero is not validated for 8000MT, another reason why inspecting the QVL is important.

2. Board optimised timings may differ depending on the profile and memory kit used.

3. The board has no control over what frequency the XMP profile contains. This is programmed by the memory vendor into SPD on the modules.

4. Manual tuning can often be required, more so when using a memory kit near beyond the maximum frequency validation. XMP is not assured overclocking and the further we are from stock the more likely it is manual tuning may be needed.

[Vynra]

so after looking it up your board does not have that ram on the QVL list like scon said above. this is just plain user error. next time make sure your board can run such high speed/have the RAM certified. 

as to why the bios is showing 8000 speed its because your ram speed is spec'd for 8000..... im not sure what your complaining about in that regard. also people might want to overclock above their rated speed. so bios allows you to go higher. just because it shows it doesn't mean it will be stable. any RAM spec'd over 4800 is an overclock technically and not guaranteed....which is why there is a QVL list in the first place.

also you chose a 4 dimm motherboard. it is extremely lucky to get over 7200 ram even with only 2 ram sticks to work on most 4 dimm motherboards. it mostly comes down to cpu imc / motherboard lottery.

this is super not asus fault. this is your fault for not taking the time to look at what will "most likely" work with your hardware. sorry. you live and you learn.

[AlexTodd]

It's got nothing to do with "user error" or "living and learning". The RAM that i bought has passed INTEL XMP 3.0 Certification although their list has not been updated in nearly 2 months. When i made my purchase i went "middle of the road" as there was modules that were "Tried & Tested & Certified" on ASUS motherboards that were reaching 8600MT.

Im not the only person on these forums that is having issues with XMP on newer BIOS versions (On other Boards) . Older BIOS versions seem to be more stable from what i have been reading and im trying to avoid rolling back if at all possible.

The QVL list is flexible and will change over time and will at some point list more ram at higher speeds. What i was aiming to achieve here was to essentially report a fault that maybe staff from ASUS might look at and try and action.

Referring people back to a User manual/QVL list wont resolve bugs and issues that people are having.

According to the user manual for the motherboard i bought , it does not even list a 14th Gen Intel as being compatibile "But it IS" . Also according to the user manual 7200MT ram is listed as compatible "But on this board and BIOS it's NOT".

I get no stability on anything over 5200MT. Plus XMP profiles should load properly without any user "Tweaking" , that is the whole idea behind XMP in general.

My previous board was a Z390 Hero paired with a 9900k and the memory support for that was 2666mhz , but with a "Working/Bug free" BIOS updates it ran with ease at its 3600mhz XMP Rated speed.

[Vynra]

you bought a 8000mhz memory kit and you still see only 7200 supported by the motherboard. that manual is not updated. hence why when you go to the memory section under 14th gen you will see up to 7800mhz. also it could be that your ram sticks are bad. there so many things that could go wrong. but you chose to go after higher speed ram than what your board supports. thats why you see OC next to those higher speed. its not guarentee'd. intel xmp certification means nothing except it has a profile. it does NOT mean it will work.

[AlexTodd]

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@Vynra wrote:

you bought a 8000mhz memory kit and you still see only 7200 supported by the motherboard. that manual is not updated. hence why when you go to the memory section under 14th gen you will see up to 7800mhz. also it could be that your ram sticks are bad. there so many things that could go wrong. but you chose to go after higher speed ram than what your board supports. thats why you see OC next to those higher speed. its not guarentee'd. intel xmp certification means nothing except it has a profile. it does NOT mean it will work.

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That's one of my main points 7200(OC) is listed and i cant get anywhere near that. Ram that is rated at 8000MT should have no problem in running UNDER it's rated speed. Given time the list of memory on the QVL list will expand and it will go beyond what is listed just now 🙂

[Silent_Scone]

Contrary to assumptions, XMP/EXPO doesn't ensure automatic overclocking. Tighter timings or higher frequencies may require manual adjustments for stability. Overclocking cannot be assured due to variance between parts when ran outside manufacture specifications.

•   Increase Success Probability: For better XMP/EXPO success and overclocking, buy memory kits slightly below the motherboard's maximum qualification. The higher the frequency and tighter the timings, the more likely it is that manual tuning might be needed to adjust for signal variance between parts. Success at or near the maximum frequency on the validation table can also largely depend on the strength of the CPU IMC.

[AlexTodd]

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@Silent_Scone wrote:

Contrary to assumptions, XMP/EXPO doesn't ensure automatic overclocking. Tighter timings or higher frequencies may require manual adjustments for stability. Overclocking cannot be assured due to variance between parts when ran outside manufacture specifications.

•   Increase Success Probability: For better XMP/EXPO success and overclocking, buy memory kits slightly below the motherboard's maximum qualification. The higher the frequency and tighter the timings, the more likely it is that manual tuning might be needed to adjust for signal variance between parts. Success at or near the maximum frequency on the validation table can also largely depend on the strength of the CPU IMC.

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Yes i understand all of this to the fullest.  I am merely raising the issue that this motherboard has issues with Ram compatability and its been an ongoing issue for every motherboard manufacturer and not just ASUS. Not just on this platform Z790 nor just on this motherboard series. 80% of bios updates are released to increase both system/ram stability as its an ever developing ecosystem. I posted here to alert other users that they could run into problems when using the same combination of components that i have. Sometime in the future there will no doubt be a BIOS update that resolves the issues im having. I was just hoping that ASUS staff frequented these forums and used the user feedback to resolve issues that people were having in a timely manner.

[Silent_Scone]

No disrespect, but I don’t think you do understand it, or else you wouldn’t have implied purchasing a 8000MT kit for the Hero was mid tier when the board isn’t even validated for speeds this high. Overclocking via means of XMP or otherwise holds no assurances, so making arguments for compatibility when you’re not referencing the guidelines that the vendor already has  in place doesn’t make much sense. 

You should opt for memory kits which are below the boards maximum validation if wanting reasonable chance of success, or as you describe it compatibility.  

If not willing to tune it doesn’t make much sense to purchase high speed kits. Signal IO and CPU variance are a fundamental part of overclocking, so staying within the realms of what is considered a less aggressive OC for a given platform makes reasonable sense.

[AlexTodd]

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@Silent_Scone wrote:

No disrespect, but I don’t think you do understand it, or else you wouldn’t have implied purchasing a 8000MT kit for the Hero was mid tier when the board isn’t even validated for speeds this high. Overclocking via means of XMP or otherwise holds no assurances, so making arguments for compatibility when you’re not referencing the guidelines that the vendor already has  in place doesn’t make much sense. 

You should opt for memory kits which are below the boards maximum validation if wanting reasonable chance of success, or as you describe it compatibility.  

If not willing to tune it doesn’t make much sense to purchase high speed kits. Signal IO and CPU variance are a fundamental part of overclocking, so staying staying within the realms of what is considered a less aggressive OC for a given platform makes reasonable sense.

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I do understand it completely. Intel are the company who certify ram along with their chipsets , hence the wording XMP being a registered trademark to Intel themself. Do you actually believe that a company would make and test ram , then pass it to Intel for further testing and getting certified and labeled as such. Then when someone buys that its a "user error" , blaming the end user for something is not helpful in this situation whatsoever. As someone else has posted here, they are using ram OVER the rated speed without issue and without having to fine tune settings themself. @Shinchan0125